“(S)He was swimming in a sea of other people’s expectations. Men had drowned in seas like that.” ~Robert Jordan, New Springs

Perhaps, a tad dramatic, I admit.  But it's been a solid month of non-stop-go-go-go, and the cold-sore on my face means that I've hit a wall.  Although, judging by the size of this cold sore, it looks as though a wall hit me.  In a self-induced-pity-party the other night while doing dishes and making lunches for the next day, I exclaimed with a great sigh "HEAVEN HELP ME I NEED A BREAK!!!"  Then the phone rang.  There was a great discussion.  Then I got all excited about the possibility of a new business opportunity.  My mind began to race.  World domination was within my grasp!  (Or that's what it felt like ...) And when I told DH of my new plans, (a mere 10 minutes after my great exclamation of needing a break) he smiled, nodded his head and without even uttering a word, I knew ... that I was ... quite possibly ... the master of my own demise.  Were it not seconds ago that I believed the weight of the world was in fact resting solely on my shoulders?  The fear that if I stopped to catch my breath ... life as we know it would ACTUALLY come to a grinding halt!  Seas would churn.  Volcano's would begin to rumble.  Nickelback would release another album (snicker-snicker) ...

Brown paper packages, tied up with string ...

Getting mail.  By far - one of the best things ever.  I'm not talking about the over-priced Hydro bill (boo-hiss and what the heck is a 'debt retirement charge' anyways?), or the phone bill (why do we even HAVE a landline anymore?), or even what appears to be a genuine letter ... only to find out that it's a computer-generated-fake-signature letter from your local government representative (can you hear it hitting the side of the recycle bin?).

No friends, I'm talking about "real mail" ... "fun mail" ... like birthday cards from your grandma that have newspaper clippings stuffed inside ... like a postcard from your best friend who still sends you postcards when she's on holiday because she knows how much you love them ... and then ... there's the mother-load-of-awesome'ness ... a brown paper package ... too big to fit in the mailbox ... my heart skips a beat ...

In February, I signed up for a "Vegan Food Swap" - organized by the devilishly clever MeShell In Your City.  She's a Torontonian and a Vegan ... and in my opinion one of the coolest people in the universe for organizing this food swap.  Think "penpal that sends you food".  I know ... I know ... how did you exist so long without knowing about this?  While not a vegan (DH is the son of a butcher, so really, we're a meat-and-potatoes couple), I am a slave to veggies and totally curious about the vegan-lifestyle ... and one of my girlfriends has been a vegan for well over a year and this lady GLOWS, so there's gotta be something to it ... I digress ...

I signed-up for the food swap, not really knowing what to expect - but that was half-the fun ... the other half ... well to be perfectly honest, was panic.  What would I (the non-vegan) be able to send a REAL vegan that wasn't "done before"?  The last thing I wanted was for my new foodie-penpal to open their box and think "wow ... that sucks".   While I stewed about this potential disaster, I received my first email from MeShell ... my first vegan-foodie-penpal was Caroline - over at the Vegan Hammock.  I DASHED to my most fav. 100 mile market and began my hunt for 'vegan things' ...

A few days later, I arrived home to find THIS waiting for me on our messy kitchen table ...

A ShortStack Foodie field trip! A little bit of summer farmers market fun in January ...

Terra at Home Winter Market

No, I have not gone crazy.  No, I have not moved to the sunny south.  Yes, there is a winter-market in North Burlington.  Yes, I clapped my hands WILDLY when I found out.  And yes, I probably bought way more at the market yesterday than DH and I could ever eat ... in a month.  But not to worry - we don't have a month ... we have 5 days 'til we leave for NYC.  Not a problem ... we'll simply balance the vast array of cupcakes and butter tarts with kale salad and root vegetable soup.  That should negate the extra calories ... right?  RIGHT?  *sigh*  No, I didn't think so.  The market opens at 10am, at Terra, on Dundas in Burlington.  There's everything from baked goods like pies, tarts, treats, chocolate ... <pause> ... sorry I just got a little misty thinking about this one piece of peanut butter-marshmallow-fudge sitting on the kitchen counter ... I thought I heard it calling me ... where was I?  Oh yes ... there's smoked fish, winter veggies, sweet potato EVERYTHING, coffee, tea, lavender, popcorn, soaps, artisan crafty-type-things ... not to mention gorgeous potted plants, herbs, flowers ... all enclosed in a beautiful, warm greenhouse.  Ladies and gentlemen, heaven does exist ... it's in a greenhouse, and they're serving butter-tarts.

So what did I do with my haul of produce, meats 'n treats? Well ...

Henry Miller got it wrong ... but the Christmas spirit helped us get it oh-so-right.



Henry Miller once said "Americans can eat garbage, provided you sprinkle it liberally with ketchup, mustard, chili sauce, Tabasco sauce, cayenne pepper, or any other condiment which destroys the original flavor of the dish."  I'm going to say it.  He's wrong.  Really, really, really wrong.  Aside from having had some of the best meals of my life in the country to the South, and having a personal love affair with all things hot-sauce, this guy was not lucky enough to have tasted my chili sauce.  Otherwise he never would have said such horrible things.  Did that sound boastful?  *sigh*  Such a delicate and fine line between boastfulness and sheer-unadulterated PRIDE in a recipe that would bring you to your knees ... did I cross the line again?  *double sigh*  Let's begin our story ...

This past Christmas I was in charge of providing my French Canadian flock with baked beans and tourtière for our Réveillon dinner.  This is "my thing".  I've finally got the bean-recipe down to a science and while the tourtière recipe continues to evolve it always brings about great conversation 'round the dinner table that night.  (In all honesty, a table of "frenchies" and one too many festive-beverages normally results in seemingly endless discussions about less-than-earth-shattering-things ... but we'll save that conversation for the therapy couch ...)  Christmas dinner was to be a wondrous buffet of stinky cheeses, pickled delights, pâtés, fresh breads and a veggie-tray large enough to span the Grand Canyon.

My plans for world domination bean and tourtière prep were all in hand.  I knew what I had to tackle for the Christmas buffet.  The list of baking for the neighbours was taped to the kitchen cabinet.  The groceries were set to be delivered.  We were almost packed for our journey up North.  I could TOTALLY get all the baking and cooking done in 4 days.  All while continuing to wrap last minute presents, sip eggnog by the fire with DH and watch holiday films.  I could almost hear the Christmas carols playing in the distance.

Enter "the plague".

Turns out it IS easy bein' green ...

If you listen closely you can hear a few flakes falling on the hills ... snow ... my heart is all a flutter.

What this means, dear reader, is that ski season FAST APPROACHES!  All my good intentions of increased cardio and strength training for the upcoming ski season have fallen by the wayside.  Instead, it's been home renos, long commutes and early mornings in an attempt to bring good marketing and advertising to the world.  Yes, 'real life' has taken over.  Sound the alarm. 


On my most recent 'commute' up to Gods country I was amazed at the amount of snow that had blanketed the hills.  Farmers fields were covered.  Mounds of hay now resembled abominable snowmen.  Cows and horses looked confused, as though they too had woken up and realized that winter was upon them.  The sheep seemed smug in their prefab woollen sweaters ... but that's a separate issue altogether ...

A sense of panic overcame me.  With each passing year I am less able to BOUND from my bed and hit the ski hill without a care in the world.  While still far from 'old age', each year sadly does produce a number of new aches and pains.  And with an intense distaste for structured aerobic fun (exception being yoga of course), I turn to food to bring me increased energy, a reduced waistline and the power to THROW MYSELF OFF MOUNTAIN TOPS!!!! 

Ladies and gentlemen - the months of green smoothies are upon us.  Long gone are the weekly farmers markets brimming with fresh, local produce.  It's time to grab your blenders, magic bullets, vita-whats-its and let's get this annual show on the road ...

Fall walks and cozy nights by the fire ... throw in Prince Charming and we've got one heck of a splendid evening ...

The weather has FINALLY started to turn. The mornings are cooler, the evenings cooler still. The leaves crunch beneath our feet and as I type this entry I'm out "in the country" staring out at a forest, the colours of the leaves still clinging to the trees, look like fire. We clap our hands wildly in anticipation of woolly sweaters, scarves, fireside cuddles and mugs of steaming hot soup. Dear readers, grab yourself a blankie, stoke the fire, and cuddle up with your fav. book (dog, cat, better half, whatever or whomever) – this soup was made for sippin’. Embrace the shorter days ... winter fast approaches ... I think it just started to snow!!! 

 

Pureed Squash and Apple Soup

BEFORE WE BEGIN ...
There is a 'variation' to this recipe ... I call it "Cinderella Soup".  Why Cinderella?  Well, on the most recent go-round of this recipe I had a little pumpkin sitting on the counter.  It stared at me.  I stared back.  I thought, perhaps this pumpkin could join it's cousin the butternut squash in the roasting pan.  And TADA Cinderella Soup was born!  So, if you're running late for the ball, missing a glass slipper, or have a horse-drawn carriage 'honking' outside your front door, please know, dear reader, that this recipe can bubble along quite nicely in a crock pot while you busy yourself trying to score a dance with Prince Charming.  Bibbity-bobbity-BOO!
 

You will need: sharp knife, cutting board, Y-vegetable peeler (or other peeler … Y is our fav.), food processor or blender- up to you, roasting pan, soup pot, measuring cups n spoons, fireplace, glass of red wine and something JAZZY playing in the background …  

It comes but once a year ... kind of like Christmas ... only better ... and without Santa .... it's actually not like Christmas at all ... it's also a heck of a lot more work, but oh-so worth it!

Monday, October 1st, 2012

 

one day only

 

40 pizzas

 

20lbs of bolognese sauce

 

will there be any survivors?

 

only time will tell ...

 

 

Bring on ... the 3rd annual

Cook-a-thon

feeding hungry men since 2010